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Hi! Welcome to Two Non-Techies, created by Martin and Jesicka Labud. We’re entrepreneurs dedicated to helping other non-technical co-founders navigate the tech startup world! Read more about us below, or check out our frequently asked questions page! And these are our two non-cats. (photo of our kitties by Marc Flores)

ABOUT MARTIN

Hi, my name is Martin and I am a 34 year old start-up guy who is learning how to code, and co-founder and writer for Two Non-Techies. In my previous life I was a computer graphics artist, who worked on advertisements and in game companies creating animations. I’m very passionate about computer graphics, animation movies, game creation and game playing.

I was born in East German Berlin and grew up there. With my wife we live in the US normally but that’s kind of complicated right now so we’re in Berlin. We have two additional family members who go everywhere we go: our two cats. I feel most free on my bike and one of my dreams is to cross the Alps on my mountain bike soon, together with my wife. For some reason I also love cars. I don’t know why I have to fulfill this cliché but I can’t help it. My favorite film is Apocalypse Now.

At the moment my wife Jesicka and I are embarking on the venture to get our first tech start-up up and running. We’ve been working on this particular startup for a few years already, developing everything we could minus the programming part. Now we’re building the prototype. We also had our own business before this, running a small art school teaching art, architecture and animation classes – which was a very valuable experience for us.

I always loved computers and everything that has to do with them – but had no idea at all how to program one. That has changed now. I still have no idea but I believe now that it is one of the most important things – if not the most important skill for me to learn right now. Therefore we created this blog to share the load a little bit since it won’t be an easy venture.

There is a lot to learn and while sharing it with the world we hope it will not only benefit us, but mostly help other people realize the importance of self-empowerment through learning how to make a computer do what you want.

ABOUT JESICKA

I’m Jesicka, and I am a tech start-up founder, co-founder and writer for Two Non Techies, and self-taught beginner programmer (and still going). I’m really glad you’ve made it to this website. The Two Non Techies project is very important to me because I want to help others who are in a similar situation: you have an idea for a tech innovation or an app, but don’t know where to begin or even how to code. Martin and I have come a long way from the very beginning, and we know we have valuable information to share with you. And it will be fun.

I started out as an architectural graduate from The Cooper Union School of Architecture. I chose architecture as my major because I knew since early childhood that I wanted to design and build buildings, and “do something very creative.” I went to a very technical high school in New York City surrounded by computer geeks, and also there were a lot of engineers at my college- but for some reason, I had no interest in programming until much later in life. I mistakenly thought it wasn’t creative enough. Now I know better. Now my curiosity for the future of the tech world is unquenchable.

I am still passionate about architecture (and many other things). It’s in my bones. I worked in the architecture industry for 7+ years, and was teaching architecture and art for 10+ years. I am taking a not-so-brief hiatus from that so I can develop this new craft of coding and grow my start-up which I’ve been itching to do for years now. When I am not working on my start-up or writing, I like to run, draw, paint, and practice yoga.

I’m a passionate activist for social justice causes and humanitarian projects, and hope to get more involved with that in the near future. I’m thinking I will, because our start-up is all about giving.

And if you’re still reading, here are a few more fun facts about me:

I just turned 30 this year.

Will recite almost every word from David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia

Started my first “company” when I was 17- as a junior in high school. It was called Dot-Five. We bought soft drinks from Costco for 23 cents each (when Costco first came to our town), invested in ice and ice boxes and sold them for $1 a pop (the food truck was selling them for $1.50) during the spring and summer months when everyone was playing ultimate Frisbee in the campus. We also designed and printed t-shirts and sold them, among some other things. We donated the profits.

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We're the two non-techies! Jes was
formerly an architect and Martin was an
animator. Now we're learning how to program so we can launch our tech start-up, while traveling and taking care of our two adorable kitties.

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